Billa

Billa is a 2009 Telugu action thriller directed by Meher Ramesh, starring Prabhas in a double role as a feared underworld don and his petty-thief lookalike. Krishnam Raju, Anushka Shetty, Namitha, Rahman and Kelly Dorji co-star, and Mani Sharma composed the music. It is a remake of the 2007 Tamil film Billa, which remade the 1980 Billa, itself a remake of the Hindi classic Don (1978). Released on 3 April 2009, it drew mixed reviews but was a box-office success, according to Times Now.

What the story is about

Billa is an underworld don running his operation out of Malaysia while hiding from Interpol. ACP Krishnamoorthy, working with Interpol, has spent years hunting him, leaving his life in India behind. When Billa dies after a police chase, the ACP keeps the death secret, even from his own colleagues, including Interpol officer Dharmendra, who has just been assigned to the case. He tracks down Ranga, a small-time thief from Visakhapatnam who looks exactly like Billa, and makes him an offer: pose as Billa, get inside the gang and gather intelligence on a major weapons deal, and in return the ACP will see that the two children Ranga has adopted get a proper education. Ranga is sent back into the gang as a Billa who has lost his memory, with no way out if he is found out.

Cast

• Prabhas as David Billa and as Ranga
• Krishnam Raju as ACP Krishnamoorthy
• Anushka Shetty as Maya
• Namitha as Lisa, Billa’s girlfriend
• Rahman as Interpol officer Dharmendra
• Kelly Dorji, Riyaz Khan, Johnny Tri Nguyen and Supreeth as members of the underworld
• Ali and Praveen as Ranga’s friends
• Hansika Motwani, Subbaraju and Jayasudha in cameos

Making the film

Meher Ramesh told Idlebrain.com that N. T. Rama Rao Jr. had wanted to remake Billa during the making of Kantri (2008), but Ramesh felt the role did not suit him at that stage of his career, and an idea of making it with Ravi Teja was dropped over budget. He then approached Prabhas. The film is the first on-screen pairing of Prabhas and his uncle Krishnam Raju. Anushka Shetty worked for more than two months to slim down for the role, and Namitha also lost weight before signing. Soundararajan made his Telugu debut as cinematographer. The film was launched on 9 October 2008, shot largely in Malaysia over three months, and completed in 104 working days.

Music

Mani Sharma’s soundtrack was launched at Shilpakala Vedika on 18 March 2009 by Dasari Narayana Rao, with S. S. Rajamouli, V. V. Vinayak, Gopichand and Allu Arjun among the guests; Lahari Music holds the audio rights. Sharma later reused “My Name is Billa” and “Bommali” in the Tamil film Sura (2010).

What critics said

Jeevi of Idlebrain found the first half “alright” but the second half “a little disappointing” and “prolonged”, while praising Prabhas’s makeover and the production values. The Times of India said it had “more style than substance”, though Prabhas gave “an impressive performance”. Bangalore Mirror called it “an extremely ‘stylish’ movie by Telugu standards”, shot at scenic Malaysian locations.

Box office and re-release

Times Now lists Billa among the hits Prabhas delivered before Baahubali; Wikipedia does not give a sourced collection figure. A remastered 4K version returned to cinemas in October 2022 for Prabhas’s birthday, and The Times of India reported that it was opening at more than 70 locations in the United States.

Where to watch Billa

We do not have a confirmed streaming platform for Billa on file. The OTT details on this page will be updated when a platform’s own listing confirms it.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Billa and the reviews and reports it cites, linked above; Wikidata; our own cast and crew records.